BFTP: 4 Rules of Library Advocacy

AASL has just release a collection of advocacy materials for school librarians. While I am pleased to see these materials made available, like any tool, they aren't much good unless you know how to use them and realize that a brochure alone will not save your bacon. Here are some basic rules of advocacy. I am sure you've heard me fuss about them before.

Johnson's 1st Rule of Advocacy: Don't depend on national studies, statistics or publications.
My cynical side says that if one looks hard enough, one can find a study to support almost any educational program, strategy or theory, no matter how crack pot. And a lot of administrators have a cynical skeptical side. Your principal's goals might be different from the goals advocacy materials say libraries help meet. And really, who trusts any study done in another state, let alone another country? Forget asking an administrator to read anything more than a page long. By all means use these fine AASL materials and others, especially as a discussion aid in face-to-face meetings. But don't depend on them alone to make your local case. (See Demonstrating Our Impact, Part One and Part Two.)

Johnson's 2nd Rule of Advocacy: Build relationships and inform so others will advocate for you.
One parent telling a school board how important he thinks the library program is to his child is more powerful than a dozen AASL brochures. One teacher willing to tell the principal that library services have helped her class be more successful secures library funding better than any mandate. One community group that works with school libraries to build information literacy skills is more effective than any set of state or national standards. But the kicker is that we need to make sure we build the kind of relationships with parents, teachers and the community that are strong enough that members of these groups will speak on our behalf. Ans that takes a great regular communication plan. (See Whose Voices Are Most Powerful?)

Johnson's 3rd Rule of Advocacy: Never advocate for libraries or the librarian - only for library users.
The biggest mistake we make is advocating "for libraries." When framing our comments from the standpoint of an impact on "the library," these statements sound self serving. "The library needs a bigger budget" or "The library can't be used for study halls." or 'The cut in the clerical postion will hurt the library program."  Look how a simple reframing changes the tone of the same ideas: "Without an adequate budget, students will not have access to the newest children's choice award titles and reading interest will decline." or "If the clerical position is reduced, I will not have as much time to work with teachers on collaborative units." or "When the library is used for study halls, students who need to use the library resources and want to study find it more difficult to do so." I hope the reason we ask for anything is because it has a benefit to our library users. We just have to make sure we connect the dots between what we want and why it's good for those we serve.

Johnson's 4th Rule of Advocay: Don't depend on the library supervisor to make your case.
A district-level library supervior can be a wonderful voice for building librarians and library programs, especially when that person sits on adminstrative councils or teams. But remember, no matter how forceful, how charming or how much dirt he or she may have on other administrators, the library supervisor is a single voice among dozens, each with its own set of priorities. We'd love to be as powerful as you think we are, but we still pull our superhero tights on one leg at a time.

Any other rules you care to add?
 

 

Original post September 12, 2011

Knowing what not to believe

Man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe.
                                                                                                         - Euripides

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.
                                                                                                          - Joseph Heller

The conspiracy theorists on both the left and the right are having a heyday this election season - as they have for the past few. Never accept the obvious, especially if it something you don't like, if there is any chance of behind the scene manipulation, dirty tricks, space aliens, black helicopters, or Fox News to blame.

In my previous position, the custodian who took care of our office space felt the need to always keep me apprised of the latest dirty trick the Democrats were trying to pull. My response was always a great deal of feigned horror that once again we (I am an admitted Democrat) were found out yet once again and promised to be a good deal sneakier the next time.

Teaching kids to evaluate the information they find need to have two skill sets;

• answering a question with reliable information
• evaluating a statement provided by others to determine its reliability

Snopes and political fact checking sites should be know and used by every digitally literate student. Who will one day grow up to be digitally literate adults.

Provided whatever is Area 51 with the help of Bill and Hillary isn't actually behind Snopes.

Can technology in schools build relationships?

My education guru, Larry Cuban, asks the question "Why is Schooling, After Adopting Computers, Yet to be Transformed?" One reason he gives is:

... teaching is a helping profession. Doctors and nurses, teachers, social workers, and therapists are helping professionals whose success is tied completely to those who come for their expertise: patients, students, clients. All patients, students, and clients enter into a relationship with these professionals that influence but do not determine the outcomes either in better health, learning, and personal growth. Professionals depend upon those who they help for their success–no doctor says I succeeded but the patient died. No teacher says that I taught well but the student didn’t learn. No therapist says that I listened well, gave superb advice but the client didn’t improve. Both need one another to reach goals they both seek. And it is the relationship between the professional and patient, student, and client that matters. Not net profits at the end of the fiscal year. Policymakers and high-tech companies eager to transform practice through new technologies ignore the essential fact that these professionals are not there to become rich or famous, they are there to help others.

As our district's 1:1 program gets its feet under it, now some weeks into the school year,  I am asking if this expenditure of funds will lead to a transformation of education in our district. Will it be electronic worksheets and shared slide shows to accompany lectures and digital textbooks? Will it lead to to "personalization" through commercial drill-and-practice reading and math programs?

Or will the technology allow teachers to establish better communications and a better relationships with all students, understanding that learning, not teaching is at the heart of a truly transformed classroom. Will it bring students and teachers closer together - or push them further apart?

And how can one tell?